The Bird and the Garden 3: The Final Adventure

Chapter 9: Desert of the Mad

As the sun began to rise over the horizon, Salem finished rolling up her blanket and tossing it to Vao. The thief stuffed it into the pack of their supplies, hoisting it on his back with visible strain. It was heavier than before, due to Sasha's armor being inside.

The tall tomboy was armorless for the first time since they had met her, sweat already building up on her forehead. The giant sighed, glaring at Yin. "... The hell you staring at?"

The cleric immediately turned his head, his face a light shade of pink. "N-not you, elf..."

Sasha snickered, folding her arms. For the first time, Salem was beginning to realize just how shredded Sasha was. Every inch of her body was solid muscle. She looked like she could beat a bear to death with her bare hands.

Verde looked up from the ground, adjusting her hat. "... Vao, can you pass me an apple? I am quite hungry."

Vao visibly flinched. "C-can we wait a bit, mate? We really should preserve food..."

"... Okay?"

"Seriously, are you feeling well?" Oswald asked. "You look like you're going to wet yourself."

"F-fine... Just hot..."

Yin looked at his brother worriedly. Would he really be alright? He seemed more distracted than usual, and wouldn't look anyone in the eye when he was speaking to them. But with a sigh, he let Vao be as they continued walking through the desert.

After several hours, the mountains had disappeared out of view, and the heat had grown almost unbearable. Oswald had refused to take off even his helmet, and was staggering and stumbling, his bottle of water nearly empty. Sasha was sweating waterfalls, her back hunched with exhaustion. Verde had hiked her robe up to expose her legs, her hat protecting her face from the sun. Yin had taken his robes off and tied them around his waist, and Salem had taken her cloak off. Vao tied his hair in a ponytail, unable to adjust his armor due to it being made of leather. And eventually, Oswald finally snapped.

"It's been over sixteen hours! Surely we should stop for a bite!?"

"Just wait! Food conservation!" Vao protested desperately. Yin stormed up to him, ripping the pack from his back. "To hell with your 'conservation'! We need food to keep our energy up!"

Vao watched in horror as Yin, Oswald, Sasha, and Salem tore into the pack, Verde stepping closer to the femboy. "... Your reactions... Did you..."

"Where... Where's the food?"

There was an audible heartbreak in Sasha's voice. Yin rummaged through the remains of the pack, his face growing a dark shade of red. But it wasn't from the sun. "Vao... Please... Please don't tell me..."

"I-I... I'm s-so sorry-"

Verde took a step away from Vao, getting out of the blast radius. And sure enough, Yin exploded. Vao yelped when Yin tackled him to the ground, wrapping his fingers around the femboy's slender neck.

"You piece of crap! You nasty piece of crap! Why didn't you say anything!?"

"G-get off me!"

SLAM!

Yin's body locked up when Vao drove his knee into the cleric's hip, throwing him to the side. The thief stood on his feet, glaring down at him. "This is why I didn't say anything! You'd have exploded regardless!"

Oswald and Salem were already pulling them away from each other, Yin struggling to get to Vao. The armored knight sighed, shaking his head.

"You really should have said something," he growled in frustration. "If we don't find food, we could die. You know that, right?"